Exclusive - Newton: Di Matteo has to unite the Chelsea dressing room

The Italian has been placed in temporary charge at Stamford Bridge following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas and Newton, who was Di Matteo’s assistant at West Brom, is confident he can steady the ship.

But he insists that to do so, he needs the Blues’ senior players behind him.

Newton told Call Collymore: “Robbie will be trying to pull the senior players together and tell them the plans going forward. He will be trying to get a consensus and get everyone on the same page, pulling in the same direction and fighting for each other.

“At the moment Chelsea look like a bunch of talented individuals that are not playing together and he needs to get the team spirit back in the dressing room. The talent will then shine through on the pitch.

“He’s been there [at the club] and has perhaps seen things that weren’t going right and he might want to go in a different direction. He might want to change a few things and it bodes well for the immediate future.”

Villas-Boas was seemingly at war with the established players at the club, but Newton insists now is the time for the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba to stand up and be counted.

“He’ll want to freshen things up but he won’t bring in youth,” added Newton. “It would be very hard for a young player to step into the situation they are in at the moment.

“They have to rely on the senior stars to get them through the immediate future. They’ve got two big cup games on the horizon and they need to push for that fourth place.”

At the moment Chelsea look like a bunch of talented individuals that are not playing together and he needs to get the team spirit back in the dressing room